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Google is well-known for projects with unexpected origins. It's almost natural, then, that the code Google used to build a web course has led to a full-fledged tool for online education. The open-source Course Builder project lets anyone make their own learning resources, complete with scheduled activities and lessons, if they've got some skill with HTML and JavaScript. There's also an avenue for live teaching or office hours: the obligatory Google+ tie-in lets educators announce Hangouts on Air sessions. Code is available immediately, although you won't need to be grading virtual papers to see the benefit. A handful of schools that include Stanford, UC San Diego and Indiana University are at least exploring the use of Course Builder in their own initiatives, which could lead to more elegant internet learning -- if also fewer excuses for slacking.

If you've been dutifully checking your mobile app updates (you do check, right?), you may have noticed a Google+ upgrade slip through largely unannounced. That revision might be bigger than you think -- although its exact value depends entirely on the platform you're running. If you're an iOS user, you now have the choice to open web links in Chrome for iOS instead of Safari; it's not the same as changing the default browser, but it will keep Google fans firmly ensconced in their preferred ecosystem while they're using Apple devices. On the Android side, it's now possible to watch live Hangouts On Air sessions if friends aren't ready and waiting for a chat. Both versions now let teens join any kind of Hangout, and there's a raft of tweaks on either side of the fence. If you've been waiting for either of the two major features to jump in, the app downloads are waiting at the source links.

You've gotten so good at hanging out ever since Google+ launched last year, isn't about time you started broadcasting your act? After a good deal of time in a limited rollout, the social network is offering up its Hangouts On Air feature to everyone. Now you can broadcast yourself on Google+ or YouTube. On Air lets you monitor views and record and re-share the content after the fact. Get down with the explanatory video after the break.